Absorbent articles such as sanitary napkins, diapers, adult incontinence products, and the like are designed to be worn in close proximity to the crotch of the wearer to absorb bodily fluids such as menses.
A significant concern of consumers of absorbent articles such as sanitary napkins relates to the risk of leakage of bodily fluids. If an absorbent article cannot effectively absorb bodily fluids, there is a risk of the bodily fluid soiling the undergarments of the consumer. There are many conditions that can signal to a consumer as to whether an absorbent article is effectively absorbing bodily fluids such as menses. Absorbent articles that are better able to handle bodily fluids can result in absorbent articles that exhibit smaller stain sizes, less wetness, less runoff of bodily fluid, and smaller stains on the body from the bodily fluid.
With these limitations in mind, there remains a need for an absorbent article having a topsheet and/or absorbent core that provide different zones with different fluid handling properties so that bodily fluids can be more effectively contained by the absorbent article.